Tehran, Iran – The Iranian news agency Entekhab, which is close to the moderate faction, denied on Monday the accuracy of a report by the Mehr News Agency regarding President Masoud Pezeshkian sending a “recent” letter of assurances to his American counterpart, Donald Trump. Entekhab clarified that the report pertained to events that occurred two weeks ago and emphasized that it was unrelated to current developments.
Timing clarification: Two weeks difference
The Iranian news agency Entekhab quoted Iranian sources as saying that the report published today about the “written guarantee” refers to events that occurred approximately 15 days ago, during Trump’s threats to launch a campaign against Tehran following the protests and the execution of demonstrators. The agency also confirmed that the letter, which Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Pezeshkian reportedly delivered to US envoy Steve Wittkopf, was intended at the time to postpone US action against Iran. Therefore, it asserted that linking it to the current context is “inaccurate.”
The Israeli narrative: WhatsApp and the mediation of “Witkov”
In contrast, an Israeli narrative emerged reinforcing the existence of direct communication channels. Hebrew media quoted a senior official as saying: “The channel of communication: US envoy Steve Wittkopf conveyed a message via WhatsApp from Abbas Araqchi to Trump.”
Content: The letter included a written guarantee from President Pezeshkian to persuade Trump to postpone any military attack.
Impact: The Israeli official indicated that this move affected the morale of the American president. However, he noted that military preparations were not yet complete at that time.
Shadow diplomacy
Israeli media sources claimed that Witkov was actively pursuing a diplomatic track with Tehran as a mediator. This was an attempt to defuse any potential military escalation. This explains the conflicting media reports regarding the timing and effectiveness of these communications.
